Add parallel Print Page Options

Job Keeps On Talking—Death Is Sure

14 “Man who is born of woman lives only a short time and is full of trouble. He grows up and dries like a flower. He leaves like a shadow and does not stay. You open Your eyes on him and decide about him. Who can make clean what is unclean? No one! A man’s days are numbered. You know the number of his months. He cannot live longer than the time You have set. So now look away from him that he may rest, until he has lived the time set for him like a man paid to work.

“For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will grow again, and that its branches will not stop growing. Its roots grow old in the ground, and the base of the tree dies in the dry ground. But with water it will grow. Branches will grow from it like a plant. 10 But man dies and is laid low. Man dies, and where is he? 11 As water goes into the air from the sea, and the river wastes away and dries up, 12 so man lies down and does not get up again. Until the heavens are no more, he will not wake up or come out of his sleep.

13 “If only You would hide me in the place of the dead! If only You would hide me until Your anger is past, and set a time for me and remember me! 14 If a man dies, will he live again? I will wait all the days of my trouble until a change comes. 15 You will call and I will answer You. You will wait for the work of Your hands. 16 For now You number my steps. You do not write down my sin. 17 My sin is locked up in a bag. You cover my wrong-doing.

18 “But the mountain falls and breaks apart to nothing. The rock moves from its place. 19 Water wears away the stones. Its floods wash away the dust of the earth. So You destroy man’s hope. 20 You have power over him forever, and he leaves. You change what he looks like and send him away. 21 His sons receive honor, but he does not know it. Or they lose honor, but he does not see it. 22 His body gives him pain, and he has sorrow only for himself.”

14 “Mortals, born of woman,(A)
    are of few days(B) and full of trouble.(C)
They spring up like flowers(D) and wither away;(E)
    like fleeting shadows,(F) they do not endure.(G)
Do you fix your eye on them?(H)
    Will you bring them[a] before you for judgment?(I)
Who can bring what is pure(J) from the impure?(K)
    No one!(L)
A person’s days are determined;(M)
    you have decreed the number of his months(N)
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.(O)
So look away from him and let him alone,(P)
    till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.(Q)

“At least there is hope for a tree:(R)
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots(S) will not fail.(T)
Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump(U) die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water(V) it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.(W)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;(X)
    he breathes his last and is no more.(Y)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
    or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,(Z)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;(AA)
    till the heavens are no more,(AB) people will not awake
    or be roused from their sleep.(AC)

13 “If only you would hide me in the grave(AD)
    and conceal me till your anger has passed!(AE)
If only you would set me a time
    and then remember(AF) me!(AG)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
    All the days of my hard service(AH)
    I will wait for my renewal[b](AI) to come.
15 You will call and I will answer you;(AJ)
    you will long for the creature your hands have made.(AK)
16 Surely then you will count my steps(AL)
    but not keep track of my sin.(AM)
17 My offenses will be sealed(AN) up in a bag;(AO)
    you will cover over my sin.(AP)

18 “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles(AQ)
    and as a rock is moved from its place,(AR)
19 as water wears away stones
    and torrents(AS) wash away the soil,(AT)
    so you destroy a person’s hope.(AU)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;(AV)
    you change their countenance and send them away.(AW)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
    if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.(AX)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies(AY)
    and mourn only for themselves.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Job 14:3 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me
  2. Job 14:14 Or release